Shadowed But Not Lonely
by Sail Away Mayday
Summary: A one-shot that focuses on Emmett and Rosalie's relationship. Takes place anytime after Twilight. Funny, sweet, and honest.


I knew the second Rosalie left the room. I knew she was trying to to be discreet; she didn't want anyone to notice that she was upset, but I knew Rosalie better than anyone. Even Jasper and Edward were too busy, engulfed in the video game I was currently beating them at, to be too nosy.

'Have at it, guys,' I said, dropping the controller a little too forcefully, and jumping up from my spot on the floor. I stalked out of the room with purpose.

'What's going on, Emmett?' Jasper called to my back, but Rosalie was the only thing on my mind. She was always my biggest concern.

Rosalie was sitting exactly where I knew she'd be, in a weathered old rocking chair on the back porch. Esme had found the antique at a flea market and restored it to its former beauty. The chair was Rose's favourite place to think.

I stuck my head out the back door of the house, and just watched her for a minute.

She was well aware that I was standing there, but she made no outwardly moves to acknowledge me at all.

This was well within the limits of normal Rosalie behaviour, and though I understood this, I never ceased to be rendered heartbroken every time I was presented with this exact scene.

Rosalie was in pain. The deep, desperate, all-consuming pain that threatened to devour her entirely. I knew without being able to see into her golden eyes that they were both empty and filled with absolute devastation. I knew the bitterness she sometimes felt at our father figure, and I knew the resentment she regularly felt at our existence. Those feelings were a hard thing to constantly be aware of. I was also well aware that allowing her pain to be so visible to the people she loved would never be acceptable to Rosalie; she was just too proud.

She just forgot exactly how much I knew her sometimes.

I continued staring at her striking, tortured visage. Her stunning blonde hair hung in perfect strands down her back, and her face glinted ever so slightly in the weak final rays of sunlight.

I waited patiently for an infinitesimal sign that would tell me she was ready for my support; after all, everything was done on Rosalie's terms.

Rosalie unclenched her graceful and powerful hands and brought them from where they had grasped around her stomach onto her knees, where she gently intertwined her fingers. When she looked down at her hands and squeezed her eyes shut, I recognised my signal.

'You know I love you more than anything in this whole world, right?' I whispered, stepping close to her and gently clasping her folded hands with one of my own.

She nodded, biting her lip. Her eyes were still clamped shut, and her lovely face was paler than usual. Her body was completely still; even her breathing had been forgone. I knew that she would have be sobbing if that luxury hadn't just been one more thing vampirism had stolen from her

I didn't need Jasper's gift to feel her desperation as tangibly as I felt her hands, and I didn't need Edward to tell me exactly what she was thinking.

We could hide nothing from each other, no matter how Rosalie thought she was protecting me. And right there was the proof of how far Rosalie's love extended.

I sat down in the patio chair next to Rose's rocking chair, never taking my hands from hers.

'I just needed to come out here and think for a while. I'm fine, Emmett, really,' her feathery voice reassured me.

'I know,' I nodded thoughtfully, 'remember when I first asked you to marry me? And I tried to be such a gentleman about it, got the ring and did the whole down on one knee thing? And do you remember what your condition was?'

I chuckled to myself at the memory.

Rosalie turned her flawless face toward me, and her eyes brightened ever so slightly.

'Yes,' she said softly, her sorrow was still obvious to me by the gravelly undertone to her voice, 'I wanted a car.'

''Yeah, you did, babe,' my grin was wider than ever, my heart lifting slightly, 'you wanted a brand new car, and I went out and got you the best new car I could find, a brand new-'

'-1936 Chevrolet Coupe,' Rosalie finished for me, lifting her bottomless golden eyes to meet mine, 'it was that beautiful metallic teal colour. And damn, that car drove like a dream didn't it?'

I actually laughed out loud, 'Yeah, it drove like a dream until we offered to be nice siblings and teach Edward how to drive. He's not as perfect at everything the first time round like Bella thinks he is.'

Rosalie's mouth twitched into a hesitant smile. She sucked in her bottom lip and chewed on it pensively, a habit she did when she was especially nervous or troubled or lost in thought.

'No,' she finally answered, 'Edward was not at all a competent driver in the beginning, was he?'

'It's damn good thing we're so durable. The car was never the same,' I continued, waiting for her beautiful laughter.

She snickered. Just the tiniest snicker, but her eyes didn't look quite as empty anymore.

'Emmett, "never the same" is an understatement, the car was completely totalled. They never even had the option of fixing it.'

'True,' I conceded, 'but we sure had some great memories in that car.'

Her face grew sombre again; I was losing her I thought quickly.

'Remember when we were seniors…oh, I think it was the third time, maybe? In 1956. I asked you to the prom, and you accepted-'

'-Of course I did,' she interrupted, a wicked smile beginning to light up her face. She knew this story. It was one of her favourites, and I was aware.

'Anyway,' I continued, 'I bribed the DJ at the dance to play _Hound Dog_ by Elvis Presley, and-'

'-You got us in so much trouble for doing that dance!' she snorted suddenly.

I nodded and suppressed my delight to some extent.

'The school wrote home to Carlisle and Esme, they wanted to suspend us or expel us or something. What did they say, that we "caused a scene" or something like that?'

'That's what we're best at, babe,' I said gleefully, 'We're real good at causing scenes, but only cause you're so gorgeous.' I ventured a small kiss on her cheek, and was pleased when she closed her eyes and sighed happily.

I didn't want any pitfalls to my plan, so I continued.

'The best holiday we ever had was that Christmas shortly after Alice and Jasper joined us. Remember?'

She cocked her head and gave me a quizzical look.

'Alice went on a huge Christmas kick, and we were all still kinda shell-shocked about her and Jasper's appearances, and no one wanted to piss either of them off, so we basically went along with anything they said. So we decided to appease to Alice's desire to experience Christmas,' I explained, trying to jog Rosalie's memory.

It worked, she quickly said, 'the water guns!'

I snorted, 'Alice had such good aim. And Jasper and Edward were both too freaking fast to catch. We pretty much ended up being on the losing side of that little battle.'

'But at least we always knew how to make the most of our losing experiences,' she said gazing up at me and letting all her love shine through her eyes.

I couldn't get enough of this woman.

'Where was your favourite house?' I asked suddenly.

'The little blue cottage on the beach at Cornwall,' she answered simply, with conviction, and approximately 3/5 of a second after I'd asked.

I nodded, 'that was a great place. The original honeymoon. I think I was still a little shell-shocked at the fact that you'd agreed to marry me.'

'I remember thinking that even though we had all the time in the world, it never quite seemed like it would be enough time.'

Her voice was absolutely raw again, her head bowed and eyes closed.

I leaned over, gently took her chin with my hand and brought her face to face mine.

'I know you will never get to sit in this chair with our children or grandchildren surrounding us, and I don't pretend to know exactly how that feels to you, but-'

'-Emmett,' she began, but I silenced her.

'Let me finish,' I pleaded, 'that disappointment is not something I take lightly, but Rose, we're making memories babe. We've got enough memories to fill two lifetimes, and they're just gonna keep collecting. God knows I'd give up all the time we still have just to give you babies, and that normal simple life you deserve. But really, we're not doing half bad gorgeous. True love is not something everyone is blessed with.'

'Hey, Emmett,' her voice was full of tenderness.

'Uh-huh.'

'Remember the last wedding? The song we had played? It really is the perfect song.'

I could feel the emotion bottling up in my throat, and was glad I couldn't tear up. 'Of course I do, Rose,' my voice was slightly rough, I knew she'd notice. We noticed everything.

'And to this day,' she started singing softly, 'when everything breaks, you are the anchor that holds me.'

I kissed her softly then and whispered back, 'and that is why we'll always make it. How I know your face, all the ways you move.'

'I love you,' she whispered, leaning over to me and resting her forehead on mine. Our eyes were closed, and this was my favourite place in the world to be. Her scent was intoxicating, and she was the most perfect thing that had ever happened to me.

'I know you do,' I answered simply, 'and I will always be here. You will never lose me. We will never stop making memories.'

She nodded slowly, her porcelain forehead still pressed against mine. I could feel her eyes flutter open, and I matched her motion. Her golden eyes were as mesmerizing as always, and I couldn't help but grin at this glorious woman who was, without a doubt, my absolute soul mate.

'Thank you.'

'Always,' I answered simply.

**Author's Note:**** Thanks for taking the time to read my first little one-shot. I hope you enjoyed, leaving a review would be the best present ever. Oh, and the song (and lyrics) I mention is a beautiful song called 'My Favourite Book' by the band Stars. I think it's a perfect song for Emmett/Rosalie, and it worked great in this situation.**


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